Dad Charged In Death

PEMBROKE PINES - — The father of a 5-year-old boy who died Thursday was charged with his murder after the man admitted beating the child, police said.

Kenneth Mager was taken to Memorial Hospital Pembroke, where he died shortly after 11 a.m. The cause of death was blunt trauma to the stomach, head and lower back, an autopsy revealed.

Hours later, police charged his father, Lee Allen Mager, 26, of Pembroke Pines, with murder and aggravated child abuse. Police say Mager admitted that he had been having problems with his son's behavior.

"During the interviews, the father confessed to striking the child numerous times on various parts of his body on the evening of Jan. 3," wrote police Sgt. D. Golt.

Police say the beatings occurred in the Mager's home in the 8300 block of Johnson Street. At the time of the beatings, the boy's stepmother, Beatriz Mager, 25, and two other children, ages 4 and 6, were inside the house but in another room, police said.

Police are continuing their investigation along with the Medical Examiner's Office, the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services and the Child Protection Team.